Leaving a Legacy in Tustin

Dec. 19, 2013

Updated Dec. 26, 2013 5:59 p.m.

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Crews labored to complete the bridge over Edinger Avenue in Tustin in November. The bridge, part of the new Tustin Ranch Road, opened to traffic Nov. 23, 2013. FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Crews labored to complete the Edinger Avenue bridge in Tustin. The bridge is part of new infrastructure at the Tustin Legacy, formerly the Marine Air Corps Station (MCAS) base. FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Crews labored to complete the Edinger Avenue bridge in Tustin. The bridge is part of new infrastructure at the Tustin Legacy, formerly Marine Air Corps Station (MCAS) base. FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Ethan Blush, 3, of Tustin, is one of the first to try out the Tustin Ranch Road extension and seems to like it as he pulls away from the crowd on his trike. The road is part of new infrastructure at the Tustin Legacy, formerly Marine Air Corps Station (MCAS) base. FILE PHOTO: CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER

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Tustin Mayor Al Murray, his daughter Emily, 8, center, and City Council members cut the ribbon at the Tustin Ranch Road extension opening ceremony in November. FILE PHOTO: CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER

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An overview of the extension and the bridge shows its proximity to the hangars and the base in Tustin. The new Tustin Ranch Road extension is part of backbone infrastructure on the former Marine base, and is key to future developments at the site. FILE PHOTO: CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER

Crews labored to complete the bridge over Edinger Avenue in Tustin in November. The bridge, part of the new Tustin Ranch Road, opened to traffic Nov. 23, 2013. FILE PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

• A 125-acre park and sports complex, which is part of the linear park.

• A 37-acre entertainment area called The District at the southern hangar, with a hotel, amphitheater, lake and retail shops.

• The city is negotiating with the U.S. Army to move the 14.5-acre Tustin Army Reserve Center from its location near The District to Warner and Red Hill avenues. The current space then could be used for more District parking or commercial business.

• 99 acres (1.2 million square feet) of business park space close to Red Hill Avenue and Barranca Parkway.

• An additional 878 residences on 69 acres in the northeast area of the former base.

• 3.5 acres that could become commercial or residential space.

Source: City of Tustin

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The city is moving forward with revamped plans for the Tustin Legacy, including a potential sports and entertainment complex near the southern hangar complete with a hotel, lake and amphitheater, according to officials.

About 800 acres of the former Marine Corps Air Station base still are vacant, offering an opportunity for land development in densely populated Orange County. Visions for the former base have been taking shape since its closure in 1999.

City officials emphasized “connectivity” in their plans, which include a sprawling “linear park” designed to link the Legacy from one corner to the other.

The community will include schools, shopping centers, corporate buildings, 170 acres of open space and parks, and more than 6,000 homes and apartments. Effectively, this is “creating a city within a city,” Councilman Allan Bernstein said at a public workshop Dec. 5.

At the workshop, city staff presented new or revised ideas for the vacant land, including creating dense “transit-oriented” housing near the Metrolink station on Edinger Avenue, a corporate campus for technology companies and a Main Street with shops and residences. While the specifics are not set, the assignments of specific sections are unlikely to change, City Manager Jeff Parker said.

The concept is to create a “close-knit” community where people are connected by walking and bike trails.

“This is a place where you live, a place where you can recreate, a place where you can shop,” Parker said of the Legacy.

The southern hangar could be part of a central entertainment area called The District, which would include a hotel, lake and amphitheater. The hangar could serve as a backdrop for outdoor events such as car shows and concerts in the park, and the interior could be used for retail shops and restaurants, Parker said.

This entertainment district and hotel would be placed close to a major 125-acre sports complex. The complex also could be used for commercial activities, which would generate revenue for the city, Parker said.

In the northeast corner closest to Edinger Avenue and Jamboree Road, the city proposed creating dense transit-oriented housing, offering convenient access to the Metrolink station. The 43 acres could have 1,085 apartments, townhouses and condominiums around a lake and park. In previous plans, this corner would have been a new elementary school. Across all 800 vacant acres of the Legacy, about 4,600 houses and apartments are expected to be built.

In the southwest area closest to Armstrong Avenue and Tustin Ranch Road, there are two visions for the 84-acre space: Main Street or a corporate campus. A 16-acre Main Street would be mixed-use, with offices and retail space on the ground level and apartments and lofts above, Parker said. Main Street, with up to 440 residences, would connect directly across Tustin Ranch Road to the district, Parker said. The remainder of the acreage would be startup space or corporate offices and homes.

Alternatively, an 84-acre corporate campus could attract technology companies and create high-end jobs. As part of the city's emphasis on open space, this business area could feature “green rooms,” or outdoor work areas modeled after Silicon Valley giants such as Google. The corporate campus proposal would mean adding about 1,000 residential units compared with 1,800 for the Main Street plan.

“If we can attract some of the best electronic firms, and create a lot of synergy and build on that, hopefully those things will build on other things,” Mayor Al Murray said.

The park, which would stretch from Red Hill Avenue at Barranca Parkway to Edinger Avenue at Jamboree Road, would include 170 acres of trails 12 to 20 feet wide and the sports complex. Some areas would be narrowed from the original plan, but this would be offset by additional open space, Parker said.

City Council members were generally supportive of the plans. Murray and Councilwoman Beckie Gomez asked about increasing police presence with a substation, which Parker said could be planned at the southern hangar area, at Red Hill and Valencia avenues, or the entertainment district.

Gomez also emphasized concerns about traffic at the hangar's entertainment district.

“I get frustrated talking to people about traffic at The District,” Gomez said. “People don't want to go there because of the traffic. If we have the same problem in this development, it's not going to work.”

Bernstein asked about offering a shuttle or golf-cart service to get around the Legacy, as well as creating veteran housing and business space, considering the base and the city's military past.

Councilman John Nielsen expressed concern about the size and density of the transit-oriented housing and whether it would create traffic issues. The area actually would be less dense than nearby Columbus Square, said Elizabeth Binsack, com-munity development director.

Moving forward, the city will need to amend parts of the MCAS Tustin specific plan to accommodate some of the proposals, Binsack said at the workshop.

With infrastructure such as Tustin Ranch Road in place and some housing developments already under construction, the city is shifting more from big-picture planning to action. The priority is to move quickly so that Tustin does not miss out on development opportunities, Parker said.

“We're going from a 30,000-(foot) view to 15,000-(foot) view to we're on the ground now,” Parker said.

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